System and method for testing a building control system that controls and monitors environmental conditions in a building

ABSTRACT

A system and method is provided that facilitates testing a building control system. The system may include at least one rack including: a housing; a terminal panel; and a plurality of slidable field panels mounted in the housing in side-by-side relation. The terminal panel may includes a plurality of connection terminals that are wired to respective component terminals of a plurality of components mounted to the field panels. Each field panel may be configured to independently slide at least partially out of a front side opening of the housing via a plurality of slides mounted to each field panel and to the housing. The system may also include at least one story board including: a schematic illustration mounted to a frame that depicts components of a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system; and a plurality of instruments mounted to the frame at locations on the illustration adjacent the depicted components of the HVAC system, which instruments receive inputs from and provide outputs to the building control system through wires connected to the connection terminals of the at least one rack, so as to mimic aspects of an HVAC system in order to test the configuration of the building control system in the at least one rack.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed, in general, to building technology,and in particular to building systems that control and monitorenvironmental conditions in buildings.

BACKGROUND

Building systems may be used to control and monitor environmentalconditions in buildings. Such building systems may benefit fromimprovements.

SUMMARY

Variously disclosed embodiments comprise a building system and methodthat includes an integrated rack that may be used to facilitatecontrolling and monitoring environmental conditions in a building. Inone example, a building control system may comprise a rack including: ahousing including a front side opening and a back side opening. The rackmay also include a plurality of slidable field panels mounted in thehousing in side-by-side relation in a horizontal direction. Eachslidable field panel may include a vertical wall and each slidable fieldpanel may be configured to independently slide at least partially out ofthe front side opening via a plurality of slides mounted to eachslidable field panel and to the housing. The rack may also include aplurality of components. Each vertical wall of each slidable field panelmay include one or more of the components mounted thereto. Thecomponents may include a plurality of transformers, each including aplurality of terminals; and a plurality of building control modules. Thebuilding control modules may include a plurality of controller modulesin operable connection with a plurality of relays and a plurality ofinput and/or output (I/O) modules. Each relay and each I/O module mayinclude a plurality of terminals. In addition, the rack may include atleast one terminal panel including a plurality of connection terminalsfacing the back side opening. The connection terminals may berespectively wired to respective terminals of the relays, transformers,and I/O modules mounted to the slidable field panels.

In another example, a method for controlling and monitoringenvironmental conditions in a building may comprise providing a rackhaving the features described previously with respect to the buildingcontrol system.

In another example, a testing system for testing a building controlsystem that controls and monitors environmental conditions in a buildingmay comprise a building control system including at least one rack. Theat least one rack may include: a housing; at least one terminal panelmounted in the housing; and a plurality of slidable field panels mountedin the housing in side-by-side relation. The at least one terminal panelmay include a plurality of connection terminals that are wired torespective component terminals of a plurality of components mounted tothe slidable field panels. Each slidable field panel may be configuredto independently slide at least partially out of a front side opening ofthe housing via a plurality of slides mounted to each slidable fieldpanel and to the housing. The testing system may also include at leastone story board including a frame and a schematic illustration mountedto the frame that depicts components of a HVAC system. The story boardmay also include a plurality of instruments mounted to the frame atlocations on the illustration adjacent the depicted components of theHVAC system. The instruments may receive inputs from and provide outputsto the building control system through wires connected to the connectionterminals of the at least one rack. The instruments of the at least onestory board may be operative to mimic aspects of an HVAC system in orderto test the configuration of the building control system in the at leastone rack.

In another example, a method for testing a building control system thatcontrols and monitors environmental conditions in a building maycomprise providing a building control system and a story board such asdescribed for the testing system. The method may also include connectingwires between the at least one story board and at least some of theconnection terminals of the at least one rack to connect the instrumentsof the at least one story board to the at least some of the connectionterminals of the at least one rack. Also the method may include testingthe building control system via the instruments on the at least onestory board.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the technical features of thepresent disclosure so that those skilled in the art may betterunderstand the detailed description that follows. Additional featuresand advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter that formthe subject of the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthey may readily use the conception and the specific embodimentsdisclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other structures forcarrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Those skilledin the art will also realize that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure in its broadest form.

Also, before undertaking the Detailed Description below, it should beunderstood that various definitions for certain words and phrases areprovided throughout this patent document, and those of ordinary skill inthe art will understand that such definitions apply in many, if notmost, instances to prior as well as future uses of such defined wordsand phrases. While some terms may include a wide variety of embodiments,the appended claims may expressly limit these terms to specificembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an example systemshowing an example front side of a rack that facilitates controlling andmonitoring environmental conditions.

FIG. 2 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the systemshowing an example back side of the rack.

FIG. 3 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the systemshowing a side cross-sectional view of the rack and a first slidablefield panel in a retracted position.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the systemshowing a side cross-sectional view of the rack and a second slidablefield panel in a retracted position.

FIG. 5 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the systemshowing a side cross-sectional view of the rack and the second slidablefield panel in a partial extended position.

FIG. 6 illustrates a further functional block diagram of a testingsystem showing a story board connected to two racks.

FIGS. 7-10 show various plane and perspective views of exampleimplementation of the rack.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of an example implementation of a storyboard.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a zoomed in portion of a story board showingan example of a story board illustration.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example perspective view of a portable displaywall that may be used to display two story boards.

FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of a rear side of one of the twostory boards shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram of an example methodology thatfacilitates controlling and monitoring environmental conditions with therack.

FIG. 16 illustrates a further flow diagram of an example methodologythat facilitates testing the rack with a story board.

FIG. 17 illustrates a block diagram of a data processing system in whichan embodiment may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various technologies that pertain to systems and methods that facilitatecontrolling and monitoring environmental conditions with an integratedrack as well as testing the rack will now be described with reference tothe drawings, where like reference numerals represent like elementsthroughout. The drawings discussed below, and the various embodimentsused to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged apparatus. It is to be understoodthat functionality that is described as being carried out by certainsystem elements may be performed by multiple elements. Similarly, forinstance, an element may be configured to perform functionality that isdescribed as being carried out by multiple elements. The numerousinnovative teachings of the present application will be described withreference to exemplary non-limiting embodiments.

With reference to FIG. 1, an example system 100 is illustrated thatfacilitates controlling and monitoring environmental conditions with anintegrated rack. The system may include and/or correspond to a buildingcontrol system that comprises at least one rack 102. The rack mayinclude a housing 104 including a front side opening 106 and a back sideopening 202 (shown in FIG. 2). In general the housing may have agenerally block shape that is elongated in a vertical direction 150. Thehousing may include a metal frame 156 with side exterior panels mountedthereto that cover a plurality of elements mounted inside the housing.An example of a housing that may be used in example embodiments includesa 42U 19-inch server rack cabinet with lockable front and back doors.For example, in one example, the rack may correspond to a DCE42812 42U19 inch rack cabinet (that is 78 inches high, 31.5 inches wide, and 47inches depth), provided by Emerson Network Power of Columbus, Ohio.However, it should be appreciated that alternative embodiments may usesmaller or larger server rack cabinets, and/or any other form factor ofa housing that has sufficient interior size to mount the elementsdescribed herein.

The rack 102 may further include a plurality of slidable field panels108, 110, 112 mounted in the housing in side-by-side relation in ahorizontal direction 166. Each slidable field panel may include a metalvertical wall 114, which in some examples may be a perforated wall tofacilitate cooling. Each slidable field panel may be configured toindependently slide at least partially out of the front side opening viaa plurality of slides 116 mounted to each slidable field panel and tothe housing.

Slides may correspond to sliding mechanisms which provide both supportand relative movement between objects by having at least one movablemember slide relative to at least one other member. For example, thedescribed embodiments may use a pair of ball bearing drawer slides sidemounted in spaced apart relation in a vertical direction, between avertical wall 114 of each slidable field panel and the frame of thehousing or other enclosure/bracket mounted in the housing. Such slidesmay telescopically elongate to enable each slidable field panel to sliderelative to the housing for a relative displacement of 20-30 inches (orother distance depending on the slides used, the width of each slidablefield panel, and the available depth of the housing). However, it shouldbe understood that alternative embodiments may use other forms ofslides. Further, an alternative embodiment may use any other mechanicalarrangement that enables a plurality of vertically orientated slidablefield panels to slide out of the housing, including pivoting linkages orother types of brackets that enable objects in a housing to slide out ofthe housing while remaining in supporting connection with the housing.

In an example embodiment, the rack may include three of theindependently slidable field panels that are mounted within an openended enclosure 158 that is mounted to the frame 156 of the housing 104.Such an enclosure 158 may correspond to a 19″ rack standard of 25U (43inches high, 17 inches wide, 29 inches deep) NEMA Type 1/IEC IP10(non-sealed) enclosure, conforming to the EIA-310E standard for IT railhole spacing. However, it should be appreciated that alternativeembodiments may use smaller or larger enclosures, and/or any other formfactor of an enclosure, bracket, and/or frame that enables a pluralityof slidable field panels to be mounted in sliding side-by-side relationin the housing described herein. Further, it should be appreciated thatthe described enclosure 158 may include a lockable door in addition toor in lieu of a lockable door for the front side opening of the housing.Further, it should be appreciated that the described enclosure 158 mayinclude removeable or removed sides for use where housing 104 includessides providing at minimum an overall NEMA Type 1/IEC IP10 (non-sealed)enclosure.

The described rack may also include a plurality of components 118mounted to the vertical walls of the slidable field panels. In otherwords one (or both) sides of each vertical wall may include componentsmounted thereto. A slidable field panel may include different sets ofcomponents and/or the same sets of components compared to one or moreother slidable field panels in the rack. The components may include aplurality of transformers 124, each including a plurality of terminals126. However it should be appreciated that the terminals of thetransformers may not be accessible. For example, such terminals may belocated inside a housing of the transformers and may be pre-wired towires that extend out of an aperture in the housing. Such transformersmay correspond to 24 VAC transformers usable to provide power tocomponents of a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system144. However, it should be appreciated that alternative embodiments, mayinclude additional and/or alternative transformers depending on thetypes of components included in the HVAC system and/or any other type ofbuilding system that the described rack may be connected to.

The plurality of components 118 may also include a plurality of buildingcontrol modules 128. Such building control modules may include aplurality of controller modules 130 in operable connection with aplurality of relays 120 and a plurality of input and/or output I/Omodules 132. Such relays 120 may correspond to interposing relaysincluding a plurality of terminals 122. Also, each I/O module includes aplurality of terminals 134.

In example embodiments, such building control modules are operable tocontrol and monitor (via signals and electrical power through wires)components of an HVAC system, such as: air handlers 146; chillers 148;dampers 150; temperature, pressure, or other sensors 152, temperaturecontrollers 154) and/or any other type of component employed in abuilding system. Such other types of building system components, forexample, may include heating systems, smoke detectors, automated windowshades, and lighting.

For example, such building control modules may include PXC ModularSeries of components of the APOGEE automation System for BACnet Networksprovided by Siemens Building Technology, Inc., Buffalo Grove, Ill. Thedescribed controller module, for example, may correspond to a BACnetbuilding controller, such as a Siemens PXC Modular controller, which isa microprocessor-based multi-tasking platform for program execution andcommunication or a Siemens PXC Compact controller which includes onboard I/O. Such a controller module may be DIN rail mountable and mayinclude a self-forming bus that connects to further building controlmodules. However, it should be understood that alternative embodimentsmay use building system controller modules from any Siemens OperatingCompanies or other manufactures with additional and/or alternativefeatures.

With respect to a Siemens PCX Modular, the building control modules mayinclude: I/O modules that correspond to Siemens TX-I/O modules; powersupply modules that correspond to Siemens TX-I/O Power Supplies; relaymodules that correspond to Siemens TX-I/O Relays or other modular relay;PXC Modular Expansion Modules; TX-I/O Bus Connection Modules and/or anyother modular component that interfaces with the Siemens PCX Modular.

Also it should be appreciated that the described building controlmodules may include the building control components of othermanufactures that are capable of being connected to a building systemcontroller to provide input/output signals, to control relays, and/or tocarry out any other type of building technology communications forcontrolling and monitoring the components of an HVAC system or otherbuilding system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the system 100showing an example back side 200 of the rack 102 and back side opening202. In example embodiments, the rack may further include at least oneterminal panel 204 including a plurality of connection terminals 206facing the back side opening. In example embodiments, the connectionterminals 206 are respectively wired to respective terminals of therelays, transformers, and I/O modules mounted to the slidable fieldpanels. Such connection terminals may, for example, be provided as partof a plurality of male pluggable terminal blocks 210, or any otherform-factor of terminals that enable the quick connection of wires(e.g., via pluggable end connectors for one or more wires) that connectto the components of an HVAC system or other building system. In anexample, the at least one terminal panel 204 may be comprised of aplurality of subpanels. Each subpanel may include connection terminalsfor an associated slideable field panel. Such an arrangement allows forindependent installation, removal, or replacement of an individualslideable field panel and associated subpanel from the enclosure 158.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the described system 100 may further includeat least one data processing system 136 including at least one processor138. In an example embodiment, the data processing system 136 may be arack mounted server and/or workstation that is mounted in the rack.However, it should be understood, that some example systems may includea plurality of the described racks 102 that in combination control anHVAC system or other building system. In such embodiments, the describeddata processing system 136 may be included in only one of the racks.Also, in some examples, different data processing systems may beemployed in multiple racks used in combination to control an HVAC systemor other building system.

In an example embodiment, the at least one processor 138 may beconfigured via at least one application software component 140 executedfrom a memory 142 to communicate with the plurality of controllermodules (on the slidable field panels) to cause the rack (when a HVACsystem 144 or other building system is wired to at least some of theconnection terminals), to monitor and control the HVAC system or otherbuilding system. Examples of data processing systems 136 and associatedapplication software components may include a DESIGO CC 2U DL380 server,a Clarity LC 2U DL380 server, and a WinPM 1U DL360 server.

It should be understood, that at least one processor 138 may beoperative to communicate with one or more data stores such as a database(e.g., Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server), hard drive, SSD, memory card,other type of device that stores non-volatile data, application server,and/or any other type of device or system that is operative to providedata to the at least one processor or is operative to store datareceived from the at least one processor.

Example embodiments of the described rack 102 may also include othercomponents mounted therein, including an automatic transfer switch 160,an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) 162, one or more backup batteries,a network switch 164. Further, to facilitate interacting with theapplication software component, the rack may include workstationfeatures, such as a monitor, keyboard, mouse that are connected to oneor more of the described data processing systems. Such workstationfeatures may be mounted on brackets that enable the monitor, key board,and mouse, for example, to be folded or slid out of the rack so as to beto a person sitting or standing adjacent the front side opening 106 ofthe rack. Example embodiments of the rack may also include securityfeatures such as cameras, access, and/or alarm systems.

In addition, it should be appreciated that the terminal panel 204 mayinclude other terminals and/or ports, such as network ports forreconnecting Ethernet cables and/or any other type of cable thatfacilitates connecting components on the slidable field panels, the dataprocessing systems, and/or other components mounted in the rack togetherand to external building systems.

FIG. 3 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the system 100showing a side cross-sectional view 300 of the rack 102 and one of theslidable field panels 108 in a retracted position. In this example, thefield panel 108 may include a plurality of the 24 VAC transformers 124mounted to a vertical wall 306 of the slidable field panel. Also theslidable field panel 108 may include at least one first controllermodule 302 and a plurality of relays 120 that are mounted in a verticaldirection 150 on a vertical wall 306 in operative connection with afirst vertically arranged DIN rail 308 mounted to the first verticalwall 306 of the slidable field panel 108.

In this example, the controller and relays may be connected via integralbus connectors which enable these modules to snap together into anintegral unit that is mounted to the vertical rail 308. However, itshould be appreciated that alternative embodiments of the modules may bemounted in spaced apart connection on the vertical wall and may beconnected together via wires rather than integral bus connectors.

Also, the slidable field panel 108 (and one or more of the other fieldpanels 110, 112) may include, a plurality of perforated cable conduits312, 314, 316, 318, 320 mounted to the vertical wall along a perimeter322 of the vertical wall and along a vertical center portion 324 of thevertical wall. The wires 326 extending from the terminals of thecomponents 120, 124 of each slidable field panel may be arranged toextend through perforations 328 in the cable conduit and to be bundledtogether in at least one bundle 330 of wires that extends out of thecable conduits towards the connection terminals 206 of the terminalpanel 204.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the system 100showing a side cross-sectional view 400 of the rack 102 and a secondslidable field panel 110 (or a third slidable field panel 112), whichmay have the same configuration in this example. Here the secondslidable field panel may include a plurality of building control modulesincluding at least one second controller module 402, at least one powersupply module 410, and a plurality of I/O modules 404. Such modules maybe connected together in the vertical direction 150 on a second verticalwall 406 in operative connection with a second vertically arranged DINrail 408 mounted to the second vertical wall of the second slidablefield panel 110.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the described rack may include at least onecable carrier 412 in pivoting connection between the terminal panel 204and each of the slidable field panels 108, 110, 112. The at least onebundle of wires 418 extending from the perforated cable conduits 414 ofeach slidable field panel may be supported by the at least one cablecarrier 412. The cable carriers of each slidable field panel may pivotin vertical directions 150 to cause the bundle of wires 418 supportedtherewith (or connected thereto via one or bands) to fold together wheneach respective slidable field panel is slid to a retracted position 416inside the housing of the rack (as illustrated in FIG. 4).

FIG. 5 illustrates a further functional block diagram of the system 100showing a side cross-sectional view 500 of the rack 102 in which thesecond slidable field panel 110 has been slid to a partial extendedposition 502. In this position, the bundle of wires 418 elongates as theslidable field panel is slid to an extended position at least partiallyout of the front side opening 106 of the rack.

FIG. 5 also illustrates example locations of two slides 504, 506 mountedto the second vertical wall 406 and portions (e.g., brackets or othersupport structures) of the slidable field panel enclosure 158. It shouldalso be appreciated that when the second slidable field panel 110 isslid partially out of the rack, the previously described first slidablefield panel 108 may be visible between the slides 504, 506. However, inorder minimize the complexity of FIG. 5, the details of the firstslidable field panel 108 (shown in FIG. 3) are not shown.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a building control system 100 thatincludes at least two 602, 604 of the rack 102. In this example, thenumber and type of components on the slidable field panels that arewired to the connection terminals on the terminal panels in the at leasttwo racks may be identical in each rack. Also, at least one dataprocessing system 606 may be mounted in one of the at least two racks.The at least one processor of the data processing system may beconfigured via at least one application software component tocommunicate with the at least one controller module in each of the atleast two racks to cause an HVAC system 144 wired to the connectionterminals of the at least two racks to be monitored and controlled.

Referring back to FIG. 2, an example embodiment of these racks mayinclude a plurality of labels 208 adjacent to the connection terminals206. Such labels may uniquely identify each transformer, relay, and I/Omodule and their respective terminals on the slidable field panels thatare wired to the connection terminals of the terminal panel. Forexample, the slidable field panels generally have components arranged intwo vertical columns on each slidable field panel that are separated bya vertical centrally located cable conduit. The labels may thus includeindicia which identifies the column that the component is located in(e.g., “1”, “2”, “3”, or “A”, “B, “C”), followed by indicia thatidentifies the component/module in the column (either top to bottom orbottom to top) (e.g., “M1”, “M2”, “M3”) followed by indicia thatdescribes which terminals that are included on the component/module arewired to the connection terminals 206 (e.g., “1-4”, “5-8”, “1-8”,“9-16”) of a particular terminal block 210.

It should be appreciated that a male pluggable terminal block 210 may beused on the terminal panel 204 that includes a large number of terminals(e.g., such as 12). However, a module connected to the pluggableterminal block 210 may include less than or more than 12 terminals. Thussome connection terminals on a terminal block may be unused. Forexample, some I/O modules on the field panels may include 8 individualsets of two input/output terminals (for a total of 16 terminals). Thus,in this case, 8 of the terminals on this module may be included on afirst terminal block and 8 additional terminals of this module may beincluded on a second terminal block. Thus corresponding labels for thesetwo connection terminals may reference the same column and the samemodule numbers, but may reference different sets of the terminals thatare wired to the respective terminal block (e.g., “1 M1 1-4” and “1 M15-8”).

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the plurality of components of the HVAC systemmay be connected via plug-in wires 332 to the connection terminals 206of at least one rack that connects to the terminals of the I/O modules,the transformers and the relays mounted to the slidable field panels.

In example embodiments, when a system includes two or more racks with anidentical number and type of components on the slidable field panels,the connection terminals 206 and the labels 208 may be arrangedgenerally identically on each rack such as in the same relativelocations with respect to each other on the respective terminal panelsof the at least two racks. Such an identical arrangement of connectionterminals and labels may simplify the complexity of plugging in wiresfrom an HVAC system on two or more racks.

It should also be understood that the arrangement of the components onthe described first, second, and third slidable field panels 108, 110,112, shown in the drawings is just one example. Implementations of thedescribed rack may have a different number and type of components on theslidable field panels, depending on the desired number of transformers,relays, controllers, I/O modules and other components that may be neededfor a particular application of the described racks. For example, in oneexample a rack may include at least three controller modules, at least18 I/O modules that are controlled via the controller modules and thateach include at least 8 I/O terminals, at least 6 transformers, and atleast 11 relays.

In another example, a rack may include five controller modules, 36 I/Omodules that are controlled via the controller modules and that eachincludes at least 8-16 I/O terminals, at least 12 transformers, and atleast 22 relays.

In this example there may be two vertically orientated (in alongitudinal direction) DIN rails on each of the two slidable fieldpanels 110, 112 with a different controller module on each DIN rail. Inaddition, there may be two power modules per rail to cover the powerrequirements of the 9 I/O modules on each rail and any connected fielddevices. Also, each of the controller modules may be capable ofcommunication with various components using BACnet.

Further in this example one controller module without I/O modules may belocated on the vertically orientated (in a longitudinal direction) DINrail on the third slidable field panel 108. This controller module maybe used for integration of various external components using Modbusand/or other communication protocols. The 22 relays 120 are also mountedon this DIN rail are available at the terminals 206 for independentconfiguration as interposing or interlock relays. Also, the 12transformers 124 mounted on the third slidable field panel 108 convertline voltage to 24 VAC Class 2 control voltage which may be used locallyfor controller and relays, or distributed to the terminals 206 to powerslidable field panels 110, 112 or external field devices.

Other example embodiments may include other numbers and types of thesecomponents. In such an example, the number and type of components on theslidable field panels may be sufficient to control and monitor an HVACsystem that includes at least two air handlers 146, at least twochillers 148, at least two dampers 150, and a plurality of temperatureand/or pressure sensors 152.

It should also be understood that manufacturing a line or model of racksthat are configured generally identically with respect to the number andtypes of components mounted to the slidable field panels may enableuniformity with respect to software configurations, installation ofhardware, and testing that may enhance productivity and lowermanufacturing and deployment costs, even in cases where some of thecomponents may not be used for a given application that employs thedescribed racks.

The described racks may be used to replace the use of building controlsystems mounted to a wall, and thereby eliminate or at least minimizethe use of wall space consumed by building control systems. For example,the described rack 102 could be placed in the middle of a data centerroom along with other racks for other types of data center equipment(e.g., servers, network equipment). The described rack 102 supports thearrangement of three vertically oriented slidable field panels inside-by-side arrangement in a horizontal direction. This allows for themounting of two relatively long DIN rails in a vertical orientation onone or more of the slidable field panels, which produces a relativelydenser arrangement of rail mounted modules (or other components) thatare readily accessible for servicing, compared to arrangements ofbuilding control modules on individual field panels mounted to a wall.In addition, by using the same standard configuration of a rack formultiple building systems and/or customers, racks may be manufactured,tested and deployed faster than in cases where custom wall mounted fieldpanels are deployed.

It should also be understood that the example system and rack isscalable. For example, should use of an alternative standard berequired, such as a 24″ rack system then the enclosure 158 could bescaled to support the arrangement of four vertically oriented slidablefield panels in side-by-side arrangement in a horizontal direction.

Before the described rack is employed in a building system (by beingconnected to an HVAC system or other building system), the rack mayundergo testing to verify that the application software components andthe controller modules of the rack have a configuration that willoperate the HVAC system or other building system in the manner intendedby the customer for the rack.

FIG. 6 illustrates a further functional block diagram of a testingsystem 600 that may be used to test a building control system 100comprised of one or more of the previously described racks 102. In theexample, shown in FIG. 6, two racks 602, 604 are shown. However, itshould be appreciated that this described testing system may be used forone rack and for more than two racks as well.

The example testing system 600 may further include at least one storyboard 608, which corresponds to a control panel that enablesfunctionality of a building control system (temporarily connected to thestory board 608) to be tested by a user. Such a story board may includea frame 610 that is operative to support the elements of the story boarddescribed herein. Such a frame may be mounted to a wall or madeotherwise accessible so as to be manipulated by a user testing thebuilding control system 100.

The described story board may further include a schematic illustration612 of an HVAC system 144 (or other building system) mounted to theframe. Such a schematic illustration may correspond to a drawing on adrawing board such as a planar substrate or wall of the frame (e.g.,paper, metal, plastic, wood board) that depicts individual components ofthe HVAC system 626 (or other building system) that are controlled bythe one or more racks (such as a graphical drawing of an air handler,chiller, and damper). In addition, the schematic illustration may depictsensors 628 associated with the HVAC system including temperaturesensors and pressure sensors, or other types of sensors deployed in abuilding system (e.g., smoke detectors, motion detectors, lightdetectors, sound detectors). The schematic illustration may also depictsome of the building system to which the HVAC system is connected to,such as ducts 630, or any other portion of the building, which assistsin understanding the manner in which the HVAC system (or other buildingsystem) is being deployed in the building.

The example story board 608 may also include a plurality of instruments614, 616 mounted to the frame (e.g., to the display board of theillustration mounted to the frame). The instruments may be mounted atlocations on or through the illustration adjacent to the depictedcomponents of the HVAC system (or other building system) (such as thepreviously described components of the HVAC system and the temperatureand pressure sensors). Such instruments may be configured to receiveinputs from and provide outputs to the building control system 100through wires 618 connected to the connection terminals 632 of the oneor more racks,

In example embodiments, the instruments of the at least one story boardare operative to mimic aspects of an HVAC system in order to test theconfiguration of the building control system in the at least one rack.For example, the instruments on the at least one story board may includeinput devices 614 and output devices 616. Such output devices maycorrespond to lights, meters, and/or graphical displays that provideoutputs indicative of the signals received from the building controlsystem (e.g., from the output terminals of the I/O modules and relays).Such input devices may correspond to potentiometers, switches, buttons,or any other electronic device that provides electrical signalscorresponding to the types of electrical signals that the HVAC systemwould provide to the building control system (e.g., to the inputterminals of the I/O modules).

In example embodiments of a building system that includes two or moreracks, at least one data processing system 606 may be mounted in atleast one of the at least two racks that manages the building controlmodules in the racks. As discussed previously, such a data processingsystem includes at least one processor 620. The at least one processormay be configured via at least one application software component tocommunicate with at least one controller module in each of the at leasttwo racks to cause an HVAC system capable of being wired to theconnection terminals 632 of the one or more racks to be monitored andcontrolled. Also, when the story board is connected to the one or moreracks, the at least one processor using the same application softwarecomponents will cause the instruments on the at least one story board tomimic aspects of the HVAC system in order to test the configuration ofthe building control system.

A user may test the HVAC system using the described story board bymanipulating the input devices and then monitoring the output devicesfor changes to outputs (or a lack thereof). For example, a user maymanipulate a potentiometer type of input device that provides a signalrepresentative of a temperature for an I/O module terminal that isconfigured in the rack to monitor a particular temperature sensor in theHVAC system. Based on an input from the potentiometer input device thatis representative of an increase in temperature, the rack may beconfigured to cause a chiller and air handler to operate. The user maythen monitor the output devices to verify that the output signalsassociated with the operation of the chiller and air handler havechanged to an appropriate operational mode. The user may then furtheradjust the same potentiometer input device to provide an electricalsignal that mimics a lower temperature reading for the temperaturesensor being mimicked, in order to verify that the rack is properlyconfigured to adjust the operational mode of the chiller and air handleraccordingly. In another example, a user may operate an input device onthe story board, such as a switch, to indicate a fault with a componentand then monitor an output device on the story board to indicate thatthe fault signal was detected by the rack.

As discussed previously, the number and type of components on theslidable field panels that are wired to the connection terminals on theterminal panels of the two or more racks may be identical in each rack,even though some of the components may go unused for the particular HVACsystem or other building system that the racks are configured to controland monitor. Also, the labeling scheme for the connection terminals andthe relative locations of the connection terminals on the terminalpanels may be identical for the two or more racks in order to reduce thecomplexity of wiring multiple racks to a story board and/or an HVACsystem or other building system.

The story board may also include at least one terminal panel 622including a plurality of connection terminals 624 that are wired to theinstruments 614, 616 of the at least one story board. The connectionterminals 624 of the story board 608 may be implemented in a similarmanner as the connection terminals of the racks, such as via a pluralityof male pluggable terminal blocks.

To wire a story board to at least some of the connection terminals ofthe racks, a user may plug wires 618 into the connection terminals 624on the story board and the connection terminals 632 on the racks. Tofacilitate to connection of the correct wires, the story board maycomprise labels (such as the labels 208 of the rack shown in FIG. 2)adjacent the connection terminals 624 on the terminal panel 622 of thestory board that identify individual components and their terminalsincluded on the slidable field panels of the racks to which theinstruments on the story board are to be connected. Further, such labelson the terminal panel 622 of the story board may specify which rack toconnect the wires to, in cases when the building system includes one ormore racks (e.g., “Rack1”, “Rack2”).

In order to enhance understanding of the various embodiments describedherein, FIGS. 7-10 show various plane and perspective views of anexample implementation of the rack 102. For example, FIG. 7 shows afront plane view 700 of the rack 702, illustrating a front door 704having a window 714 through which three slidable field panels 706, 708,710 are illustrated. FIG. 7 also shows an example of a rack mounted dataprocessing system 712 visible through the window. In addition, FIG. 8,shows a back plane view 800 of the rack 702, illustrating a back door802 having a window 804 through which a terminal panel 806 isillustrated.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an example perspective view 900 of a slidablefield panel enclosure 902 is illustrated in which the three field panels706, 708, 710 may be mounted in slidable connection via slides 904mounted to each slidable field panel and the slidable field enclosure.It should be noted that FIG. 9 shows a slidable field panel enclosure902 outside of the housing of the rack and without wires and componentssuch as building control modules and transformers mounted to theslidable field panels. Also FIG. 9 illustrates one of the slidable fieldpanels 710 in an extended position showing the resulting orientation oftwo pivoting cable carriers 906 connected between the slidable fieldpanel 710 and the terminal panel 806.

FIG. 10 shows a zoomed in view 1000 of the terminal panel 806 showing aplurality of male pluggable terminal blocks 1002 as well as a pluralityof adjacent labels 1004. FIG. 10 also illustrates that the terminalpanel may include other types of ports such as a CATS/6 Ethernet port1006.

In order to enhance understanding of the previously described storyboard, FIG. 11 shows a perspective view 1100 of an exampleimplementation 1102 of the story board 608 schematically illustrated inFIG. 6. As discussed previously, the story board 1102 may include aframe 1104 and an illustration 1106 of an HVAC system (or other buildingsystem) mounted thereto. In addition, FIG. 12 shows an example of azoomed in portion of a story board 1200 showing an example of a storyboard illustration 1202. The illustration graphically depicts aplurality of HVAC components such as a chiller 1204, air handler 1206,damper 1208, and air temperature sensor 1210. Instruments, (not shown)may be mounted adjacent to the story board adjacent the graphicalcomponents and/or adjacent a textual description of the graphicalcomponents. For example, schematic circle 1212 illustrates an examplelocation for mounting a potentiometer associated with the depicted airtemperature sensor 1210. In addition, schematic circle 1214 illustratesan example location for mounting one or more LEDs that provide an outputassociated with the start/stop status of the depicted air handler 1206.

It should be understood that more complex building systems may requiremore complex building control systems with more racks. Further, testingof more complex building systems may require more than one story board.FIG. 13 illustrates an example perspective view 1300 of a portabledisplay wall 1302 that may be used to display two story boards 1304,1306. Such a display wall may have an optional door 1308 to provideaccess to behind the wall in order to access the wiring associated witheach story board.

FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view 1400 of a rear side of one of thestory boards 1304, 1306 shown in FIG. 13. Each story board in thisexample may include a frame 1402 and a display board 1306 mounted to theframe. The previously described illustration may be printed on the boardbefore it is mounted to the frame. Alternately, the illustration may beincluded on a paper or plastic substrate that may be mounted to theoutside surface of the display board 1404. FIG. 14 also shows an exampleof a story board terminal panel 1406 mounted to the frame.

In the previous examples, the described components are mounted tovertical walls of the slidable field panels which are in side-by-siderelation in a horizontal direction. However, it should also beappreciated that in an alternative embodiment, the described pluralityof slidable field panels may be rotated horizontally (with the verticalwall being a horizontal wall) and with the slidable field panelspositioned one above the other in the vertical direction. In such anembodiment, the described DIN rails may be mounted to the horizontalwalls, and at least some of the described components may be mounted tothe rails along the horizontal walls.

With reference now to FIGS. 15 and 16, various example methodologies areillustrated and described. While the methodologies are described asbeing a series of acts that are performed in a sequence, it is to beunderstood that the methodologies may not be limited by the order of thesequence. For instance, some acts may occur in a different order thanwhat is described herein. In addition, an act may occur concurrentlywith another act. Furthermore, in some instances, not all acts may berequired to implement a methodology described herein.

It is important to note that while the disclosure includes a descriptionin the context of a fully functional system and/or a series of acts,those skilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the mechanismof the present disclosure and/or described acts (such as the describedapplication software component) may be capable of being distributed inthe form of computer-executable instructions contained withinnon-transitory machine-usable, computer-usable, or computer-readablemedium in any of a variety of forms, and that the present disclosureapplies equally regardless of the particular type of instruction or databearing medium or storage medium utilized to actually carry out thedistribution. Examples of non-transitory machine usable/readable orcomputer usable/readable mediums include: ROMs, EPROMs, magnetic tape,floppy disks, hard disk drives, SSDs, flash memory, CDs, DVDs, andBlu-ray disks. The computer-executable instructions may include aroutine, a sub-routine, programs, applications, modules, libraries,and/or the like. Still further, results of acts of the methodologies maybe stored in a computer-readable medium, displayed on a display device,and/or the like.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a methodology 1500 is illustrated thatfacilitates controlling and monitoring environmental conditions in abuilding. The methodology may start at 1502 and may include severalacts. These acts may include an act 1504 of providing a rack. Asdiscussed previously such a rack may include a housing including a frontside opening and a back side opening. The rack may also include aplurality of slidable field panels mounted in the housing inside-by-side relation in a horizontal direction. Each slidable fieldpanel may include a vertical wall. Also, each slidable field panel maybe configured to independently slide at least partially out of the frontside opening via a plurality of slides mounted to each slidable fieldpanel and to the housing. In addition, the rack may include a pluralityof components. Each vertical wall of each slidable field panel mayinclude one or more of the components mounted thereto. Such componentsmay include a plurality of transformers, each including a plurality ofterminals. Such components may also include a plurality of buildingcontrol modules. The building control modules may include a plurality ofcontroller modules in operable connection with a plurality of relays anda plurality of input and/or output (TO) modules. Each relay may includea plurality of terminals. Also, each I/O module may include a pluralityof terminals. The rack may further include at least one terminal panelincluding a plurality of connection terminals facing the back sideopening, wherein the connection terminals are respectively wired torespective terminals of the relays, transformers, and I/O modulesmounted to the slidable field panels. At 1506 the methodology may end.

It should be appreciated that the methodology 1500 may include otheracts and features discussed previously with respect to the buildingcontrol system 100. For example, the methodology may include an act ofconfiguring at least one data processing system including at least oneprocessor with at least one application software component executablefrom a memory to communicate with the plurality of controller modules tocause the rack when a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systemis wired to at least some of the connection terminals, to monitor andcontrol the HVAC. Also the methodology may include: an act of wiring theHVAC system to at least some of the connection terminals; and an act ofthrough operation of the at least one processor, causing the rack tomonitor and control the HVAC.

Referring now to FIG. 16, a methodology 1600 is illustrated thatfacilitates testing a building control system that controls and monitorsenvironmental conditions in a building. The methodology may start at1602 and may include several acts. These acts may include an act 1604 ofproviding a building control system including at least one rack. The atleast one rack may include: a housing; at least one terminal panelmounted in the housing; and a plurality of slidable field panels mountedin the housing in side-by-side relation. The at least one terminal panelmay include a plurality of connection terminals that are wired torespective component terminals of a plurality of components mounted tothe slidable field panels. Each slidable field panel may be configuredto independently slide at least partially out of a front side opening ofthe housing via a plurality of slides mounted to each slidable fieldpanel and to the housing.

The methodology may also include an act 1606 of providing at least onestory board including a frame and a schematic illustration mounted tothe frame that depicts components of a heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) system. The story board may also include a pluralityof instruments mounted to the frame at locations on the illustrationadjacent the depicted components of the HVAC system. Such instrumentsmay receive inputs from and provide outputs to the building controlsystem through wires connected to the connection terminals of the atleast one rack. Such instruments of the at least one story board may beoperative to mimic aspects of an HVAC system in order to test theconfiguration of the building control system in the at least one rack.The methodology 1600 may also include an act 1608 of connecting thewires between the at least one story board and at least some of theconnection terminals of the at least one rack to connect the instrumentsof the at least one story board to the at least some of the connectionterminals of the at least one rack. Further the methodology may includean act 1610 of testing the building control system via the instrumentson the at least one story board. At 1612 the methodology may end.

It should be appreciated that the methodology 1600 may include otheracts and features discussed previously with respect to the testingsystem 600. For example, the instruments on the at least one story boardmay include input devices and output devices that are connected to theconnection terminals of the at least one rack via the wires. The act1610 of testing the building control system may include providing inputsthrough the input devices that produce electrical signals correspondingto the types of electrical signals that the HVAC system would provide tothe building control system. The act 1610 of testing the buildingcontrol system may also include monitoring outputs from the outputdevices of the at least one story board that are indicative of thesignals received from the building control system.

In addition, the building system may include at least two racks and atleast one data processing system may be mounted in at least one of theat least two racks and includes at least one processor. The methodology1600 may further include an act of configuring the at least oneprocessor with at least one application software component tocommunicate with at least one controller module in each of the at leasttwo racks to: cause an HVAC system capable of being wired to theconnection terminals of the at least two racks to be monitored andcontrolled; and cause the instruments on the at least one story board tomimic aspects of the HVAC system in order to test the configuration ofthe building control system in the at least two racks.

As discussed previously, acts associated with these methodologies (otherthan any described manual acts) may be carried out by one or moreprocessors. Such processor(s) may be included in one or more dataprocessing systems, for example, that execute software components (suchas the described application software component) operative to causethese acts to be carried out by the one or more processors. In anexample embodiment, such software components may comprisecomputer-executable instructions corresponding to a routine, asub-routine, programs, applications, modules, libraries, a thread ofexecution, and/or the like. Further, it should be appreciated thatsoftware components may be written in and/or produced by softwareenvironments/languages/frameworks such as Java, JavaScript, Python, C,C#, C++ or any other software tool capable of producing components andgraphical user interfaces configured to carry out the acts and featuresdescribed herein.

FIG. 17 illustrates a block diagram of a data processing system 1700(also referred to as a computer system) in which an embodiment can beimplemented, for example, as a portion of a building system, and/orother system operatively configured by software/firmware or otherwise toperform the processes as described herein. The data processing systemdepicted includes at least one processor 1702 (e.g., a CPU) that may beconnected to one or more bridges/controllers/buses 1704 (e.g., a northbridge, a south bridge). One of the buses 1704, for example, may includeone or more I/O buses such as a PCI Express bus. Also connected tovarious buses in the depicted example may include a main memory 1706(RAM) and a graphics controller 1708. The graphics controller 1708 maybe connected to one or more display devices 1710. It should also benoted that in some embodiments one or more controllers (e.g., graphics,south bridge) may be integrated with the CPU (on the same chip or die).Examples of CPU architectures include IA-32, x86-64, and ARM processorarchitectures.

Other peripherals connected to one or more buses may includecommunication controllers 1712 (Ethernet controllers, WiFi controllers,cellular controllers) operative to connect to a local area network(LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), a cellular network, and/or other wiredor wireless networks 1714 or communication equipment.

Further components connected to various busses may include one or moreI/O controllers 1716 such as USB controllers, Bluetooth controllers,and/or dedicated audio controllers (connected to speakers and/ormicrophones). It should also be appreciated that various peripherals maybe connected to the I/O controller(s) (via various ports andconnections) including input devices 1718 (e.g., keyboard, mouse,pointer, touch screen, touch pad, drawing tablet, trackball, buttons,keypad, game controller, gamepad, camera, microphone, scanners, motionsensing devices that capture motion gestures), output devices 1720(e.g., printers, speakers) or any other type of device that is operativeto provide inputs to or receive outputs from the data processing system.Also, it should be appreciated that many devices referred to as inputdevices or output devices may both provide inputs and receive outputs ofcommunications with the data processing system. For example, theprocessor 1702 may be integrated into a housing (such as a tablet) thatincludes a touch screen that serves as both an input and display device.Further, it should be appreciated that some input devices (such as alaptop) may include a plurality of different types of input devices(e.g., touch screen, touch pad, and keyboard). Also, it should beappreciated that other peripheral hardware 1722 connected to the I/Ocontrollers 1716 may include any type of device, machine, or componentthat is configured to communicate with a data processing system.

Additional components connected to various busses may include one ormore storage controllers 1724 (e.g., SATA). A storage controller may beconnected to a storage device 1726 such as one or more storage drivesand/or any associated removable media, which can be any suitablenon-transitory machine usable or machine readable storage medium.Examples, include nonvolatile devices, volatile devices, read onlydevices, writable devices, ROMs, EPROMs, magnetic tape storage, floppydisk drives, hard disk drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), flash memory,optical disk drives (CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray), and other known optical,electrical, or magnetic storage devices drives and/or computer media.Also in some examples, a storage device such as an SSD may be connecteddirectly to an I/O bus 1704 such as a PCI Express bus.

A data processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may include an operating system 1728, software/firmware 1730,and data stores 1732 (that may be stored on a storage device 1726 and/orthe memory 1706). Such an operating system may employ a command lineinterface (CLI) shell and/or a graphical user interface (GUI) shell. TheGUI shell permits multiple display windows to be presented in thegraphical user interface simultaneously, with each display windowproviding an interface to a different application or to a differentinstance of the same application. A cursor or pointer in the graphicaluser interface may be manipulated by a user through a pointing devicesuch as a mouse or touch screen. The position of the cursor/pointer maybe changed and/or an event, such as clicking a mouse button or touchinga touch screen, may be generated to actuate a desired response. Examplesof operating systems that may be used in a data processing system mayinclude Microsoft Windows, Linux, UNIX, iOS, and Android operatingsystems. Also, examples of data stores include data files, data tables,relational database (e.g., Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server), databaseservers, or any other structure and/or device that is capable of storingdata, which is retrievable by a processor.

The communication controllers 1712 may be connected to the network 1714(not a part of data processing system 1700), which can be any public orprivate data processing system network or combination of networks, asknown to those of skill in the art, including the Internet. Dataprocessing system 1700 can communicate over the network 1714 with one ormore other data processing systems such as a server 1734 (also not partof the data processing system 1700). However, an alternative dataprocessing system may correspond to a plurality of data processingsystems implemented as part of a distributed system in which processorsassociated with several data processing systems may be in communicationby way of one or more network connections and may collectively performtasks described as being performed by a single data processing system.Thus, it is to be understood that when referring to a data processingsystem, such a system may be implemented across several data processingsystems organized in a distributed system in communication with eachother via a network.

Further, the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereofthat controls at least one operation, whether such a device isimplemented in hardware, firmware, software or some combination of atleast two of the same. It should be noted that the functionalityassociated with any particular controller may be centralized ordistributed, whether locally or remotely.

In addition, it should be appreciated that data processing systems maybe implemented as virtual machines in a virtual machine architecture orcloud environment. For example, the processor 1702 and associatedcomponents may correspond to a virtual machine executing in a virtualmachine environment of one or more servers. Examples of virtual machinearchitectures include VMware ESCi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Xen, and KVM.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardwaredepicted for the data processing system may vary for particularimplementations. For example, the data processing system 1700 in thisexample may correspond to a controller, computer, workstation, server,PC, notebook computer, tablet, mobile phone, and/or any other type ofapparatus/system that is operative to process data and carry outfunctionality and features described herein associated with theoperation of a data processing system, computer, processor, and/or acontroller discussed herein. The depicted example is provided for thepurpose of explanation only and is not meant to imply architecturallimitations with respect to the present disclosure.

Also, it should be noted that the processor described herein may belocated in a server that is remote from the display and input devicesdescribed herein. In such an example, the described display device andinput device may be included in a client device that communicates withthe server (and/or a virtual machine executing on the server) through awired or wireless network (which may include the Internet). In someembodiments, such a client device, for example, may execute a remotedesktop application or may correspond to a portal device that carriesout a remote desktop protocol with the server in order to send inputsfrom an input device to the server and receive visual information fromthe server to display through a display device. Examples of such remotedesktop protocols include Teradici's PCoIP, Microsoft's RDP, and the RFBprotocol. In such examples, the processor described herein maycorrespond to a virtual processor of a virtual machine executing in aphysical processor of the server.

As used herein, the terms “component” and “system” are intended toencompass hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.Thus, for example, a system or component may be a process, a processexecuting on a processor, or a processor. Additionally, a component orsystem may be localized on a single device or distributed across severaldevices.

Also, as used herein a processor corresponds to any electronic devicethat is configured via hardware circuits, software, and/or firmware toprocess data. For example, processors described herein may correspond toone or more (or a combination) of a microprocessor, CPU, FPGA, ASIC, orany other integrated circuit (IC) or other type of circuit that iscapable of processing data in a data processing system, which may havethe form of a controller board, computer, server, mobile phone, and/orany other type of electronic device.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, for simplicity andclarity, the full structure and operation of all data processing systemssuitable for use with the present disclosure is not being depicted ordescribed herein. Instead, only so much of a data processing system asis unique to the present disclosure or necessary for an understanding ofthe present disclosure is depicted and described. The remainder of theconstruction and operation of data processing system 1700 may conform toany of the various current implementations and practices known in theart.

Also, it should be understood that the words or phrases used hereinshould be construed broadly, unless expressly limited in some examples.For example, the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivativesthereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The singular forms “a”, “an”and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. Further, the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. The term “or” is inclusive,meaning and/or, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thephrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well asderivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within,interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with,couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave,juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a propertyof, or the like.

Also, although the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and so forth may beused herein to describe various elements, functions, or acts, theseelements, functions, or acts should not be limited by these terms.Rather these numeral adjectives are used to distinguish differentelements, functions or acts from each other. For example, a firstelement, function, or act could be termed a second element, function, oract, and, similarly, a second element, function, or act could be termeda first element, function, or act, without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure.

In addition, phrases such as “processor is configured to” carry out oneor more functions or processes, may mean the processor is operativelyconfigured to or operably configured to carry out the functions orprocesses via software, firmware, and/or wired circuits. For example, aprocessor that is configured to carry out a function/process maycorrespond to a processor that is executing the software/firmware, whichis programmed to cause the processor to carry out the function/processand/or may correspond to a processor that has the software/firmware in amemory or storage device that is available to be executed by theprocessor to carry out the function/process. It should also be notedthat a processor that is “configured to” carry out one or more functionsor processes, may also correspond to a processor circuit particularlyfabricated or “wired” to carry out the functions or processes (e.g., anASIC or FPGA design). Further the phrase “at least one” before anelement (e.g., a processor) that is configured to carry out more thanone function may correspond to one or more elements (e.g., processors)that each carry out the functions and may also correspond to two or moreof the elements (e.g., processors) that respectively carry out differentones of the one or more different functions.

In addition, the term “adjacent to” may mean: that an element isrelatively near to but not in contact with a further element; or thatthe element is in contact with the further portion, unless the contextclearly indicates otherwise.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has beendescribed in detail, those skilled in the art will understand thatvarious changes, substitutions, variations, and improvements disclosedherein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure in its broadest form.

None of the description in the present application should be read asimplying that any particular element, step, act, or function is anessential element, which must be included in the claim scope: the scopeof patented subject matter is defined only by the allowed claims.Moreover, none of these claims are intended to invoke a means plusfunction claim construction unless the exact words “means for” arefollowed by a participle.

What is claimed is:
 1. A testing system for testing a building controlsystem that controls and monitors environmental conditions in a buildingcomprising: a building control system including at least one rack,wherein the at least one rack includes: a housing; at least one terminalpanel mounted in the housing; and a plurality of slidable field panelsmounted in the housing in side-by-side relation, wherein the at leastone terminal panel includes a plurality of connection terminals that arewired to respective component terminals of a plurality of componentsmounted to the slidable field panels, wherein each slidable field panelis configured to independently slide at least partially out of a frontside opening of the housing via a plurality of slides mounted to eachslidable field panel and to the housing; and at least one story boardincluding: a frame; a schematic illustration mounted to the frame thatdepicts components of a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning(HVAC) system; a plurality of instruments mounted to the frame atlocations on the illustration adjacent the depicted components of theHVAC system, which instruments receive inputs from and provide outputsto the building control system through wires connected to the connectionterminals of the at least one rack, wherein, the instruments of the atleast one story board are operative to mimic aspects of an HVAC systemin order to test the configuration of the building control system in theat least one rack.
 2. The testing system according to claim 1, whereinthe plurality of slidable field panels are mounted in the housing inside-by-side relation in a horizontal direction and each slidable fieldpanel includes a vertical wall with at least one of the componentsmounted thereto, wherein the instruments on the at least one story boardinclude input devices and output devices that are connected to theconnection terminals of the at least one rack via the wires, wherein theoutput devices of the at least one story board provide outputsindicative of the signals received from the building control system andthe input devices provide electrical signals corresponding to the typesof electrical signals that the HVAC system would provide to the buildingcontrol system.
 3. The testing system according to claim 2, wherein theat least one rack includes at least two racks, wherein at least one dataprocessing system is mounted in at least one of the at least two racksand includes at least one processor, wherein the at least one processoris configured via at least one application software component tocommunicate with at least one controller module in each of the at leasttwo racks to: cause an HVAC system capable of being wired to theconnection terminals of the at least two racks to be monitored andcontrolled; and cause the instruments on the at least one story board tomimic aspects of the HVAC system in order to test the configuration ofthe building control system in the at least two racks.
 4. The testingsystem according to claim 3, further comprising a portable wallcomprising the at least one story board, which at least one story boardincludes at least two story boards.
 5. The testing system according toclaim 3, wherein the plurality of slidable field panels include threeindependently slidable field panels, wherein the number and type ofcomponents on the slidable field panels that are wired to the connectionterminals on the terminal panels in the at least two racks are identicalin each rack.
 6. The testing system according to claim 5, wherein the atleast one story board includes at least one terminal panel including aplurality of connection terminals that are wired to the instruments ofthe at least one story board, wherein the connection terminals of the atleast one terminal panel of the at least one story board are connectedto at least some of the connection terminals of the racks via the wiresthat plug into the connection terminals on the at least one story boardand the racks, further comprising labels adjacent the connectionterminals of the at least one story board and racks that identifyindividual components included on the slidable field panels includingrelays, and input and/or output (I/O) modules and their respectiveterminals that are wired to the connection terminals of the terminalpanels of the at least one story board and racks.
 7. The testing systemaccording to claim 6, wherein each slidable field panel includes avertical wall, wherein the components of each rack are mounted to thevertical walls of the slidable field panels, wherein the components ineach rack include: a plurality of transformers, each including aplurality of terminals; and a plurality of building control modules,wherein the building control modules include a plurality of thecontroller modules in operable connection with a plurality of the relaysand a plurality of the I/O modules, wherein each relay includes aplurality of terminals, wherein each I/O module includes a plurality ofterminals.
 8. The testing system according to claim 7, wherein thelabels adjacent the connection terminals of each rack uniquely identifyeach transformer, relay, and I/O module and their respective terminalson the slidable field panels that are wired to the connection terminalsof the terminal panels of the at least two racks, wherein the connectionterminals and the terminal labels are arranged in the same relativelocations with respect to each other on the respective terminal panelsof the at least two racks.
 9. The testing system according to claim 8,wherein each rack includes at least three controller modules, at least18 I/O modules that are controlled via the controller modules and thateach include at least 8 I/O terminals, at least 6 transformers, and atleast 11 relays.
 10. The testing system according to claim 9, whereinthe illustration of the HVAC system depicts a plurality of componentsincluding at least two air handlers, at least two chillers, at least twodampers, a plurality of temperature sensors, and a plurality of pressuresensors, which depicted components include at least one instrumentadjacent thereto.
 11. A method for testing a building control systemthat controls and monitors environmental conditions in a buildingcomprising: providing a building control system including at least onerack, wherein the at least one rack includes: a housing; at least oneterminal panel mounted in the housing; and a plurality of slidable fieldpanels mounted in the housing in side-by-side relation, wherein the atleast one terminal panel includes a plurality of connection terminalsthat are wired to respective component terminals of a plurality ofcomponents mounted to the slidable field panels, wherein each slidablefield panel is configured to independently slide at least partially outof a front side opening of the housing via a plurality of slides mountedto each slidable field panel and to the housing; providing at least onestory board including: a frame; a schematic illustration mounted to theframe that depicts components of a heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) system; a plurality of instruments mounted to theframe at locations on the illustration adjacent the depicted componentsof the HVAC system, which instruments receive inputs from and provideoutputs to the building control system through wires connected to theconnection terminals of the at least one rack, wherein, the instrumentsof the at least one story board are operative to mimic aspects of anHVAC system in order to test the configuration of the building controlsystem in the at least one rack; connecting the wires between the atleast one story board and at least some of the connection terminals ofthe at least one rack to connect the instruments of the at least onestory board to the at least some of the connection terminals of the atleast one rack; and testing the building control system via theinstruments on the at least one story board.
 12. The method according toclaim 11, wherein the plurality of slidable field panels are mounted inthe housing in side-by-side relation in a horizontal direction and eachslidable field panel includes a vertical wall with at least one of thecomponents mounted thereto, wherein the instruments on the at least onestory board include input devices and output devices that are connectedto the connection terminals of the at least one rack via the wires,wherein testing the building control system includes: providing inputsthrough the input devices that produce electrical signals correspondingto the types of electrical signals that the HVAC system would provide tothe building control system; and monitoring outputs from the outputdevices of the at least one story board that are indicative of thesignals received from the building control system.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the building system includes at least tworacks, wherein at least one data processing system is mounted in atleast one of the at least two racks and includes at least one processor,further comprising: configuring the at least one processor with at leastone application software component to communicate with at least onecontroller module in each of the at least two racks to: cause an HVACsystem capable of being wired to the connection terminals of the atleast two racks to be monitored and controlled; and cause theinstruments on the at least one story board to mimic aspects of the HVACsystem in order to test the configuration of the building control systemin the at least two racks.
 14. The method according to claim 13, whereinproviding the at least one story board includes providing a portablewall comprising the at least one story board, which includes at leasttwo story boards.
 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein theplurality of slidable field panels include three independently slidablefield panels, wherein the number and type of components on the slidablefield panels that are wired to the connection terminals on the terminalpanels in the at least two racks are identical in each rack.
 16. Themethod system according to claim 15, wherein the at least one storyboard includes at least one terminal panel including a plurality ofconnection terminals that are wired to the instruments of the at leastone story board, wherein the connection terminals of the at least oneterminal panel of the at least one story board are connected to at leastsome of the connection terminals of the racks via the wires that pluginto the connection terminals on the at least one story board and theracks, further comprising labels adjacent the connection terminals ofthe at least one story board and racks that identify individualcomponents included on the slidable field panels including relays, andinput and/or output (I/O) modules and their respective terminals thatare wired to the connection terminals of the terminal panels of the atleast one story board and racks.
 17. The method according to claim 16,wherein each slidable field panel includes a vertical wall, wherein thecomponents of each rack are mounted to the vertical walls of theslidable field panels, wherein the components in each rack include: aplurality of transformers, each including a plurality of terminals; anda plurality of building control modules, wherein the building controlmodules include a plurality of the controller modules in operableconnection with a plurality of the relays and a plurality of the I/Omodules, wherein each relay includes a plurality of terminals, whereineach I/O module includes a plurality of terminals.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 17, wherein the labels adjacent the connectionterminals of each rack uniquely identify each transformer, relay, andI/O module and their respective terminals on the slidable field panelsthat are wired to the connection terminals of the terminal panels of theat least two racks, wherein the connection terminals and the terminallabels are arranged in the same relative locations with respect to eachother on the respective terminal panels of the at least two racks. 19.The method according to claim 18, wherein each rack includes at leastthree controller modules, at least 18 I/O modules that are controlledvia the controller modules and that each include at least 8 I/Oterminals, at least 6 transformers, and at least 11 relays.
 20. Themethod according to claim 19, wherein the illustration of the HVACsystem depicts a plurality of components including at least two airhandlers, at least two chillers, at least two dampers, a plurality oftemperature sensors, and a plurality of pressure sensors, which depictedcomponents include at least one instrument adjacent thereto.